vanquished the portcullis, leaving its yawning pockets to be disposed of. Commercialism said “wall them up,” not I. It would be a pity to lose a particle of the thirteenth century atmosphere that consents to linger. So I decided upon a bold innovation as the privilege of adaptation. I could anchor the chains for holding up the glass canopy over the carriage entry, in those pockets that once housed the arms of the portcullis; and thus, the spooky old _tour_ could be saved intact. The main part of the American château is in this case supposedly modern, developed from motives supplied by the minor châteaux of France--the _manoirs_, the _fermes_, with a little American household planning within, necessary for comfort. But you have noticed that no American, however rich, has yet amassed sufficient fortune to warrant an undertaking anything like an adaptation of Chambord (see Plate LXXVI). A class of architecture in itself, the Valois shooting-box is quite too tremendous in extent for any modern use as a private domicile. The palace of Fontainebleau, also, would entail most too much of a contract for even the president of a trust, and I may add to these names, delightful to pronounce, the Louvre (see Plate LXIX), which the people of Philadelphia alone had the hardihood to caricature in a municipal building. Shades of François Mansart, what crimes have we enacted in thy name! [My acknowledgments to Mme. Roland]. Perhaps the most inviting and as little explored field of architecture suitable to domestic purposes in this country that I can think of to suggest to our talent is the opportunity we have in the Swiss châlets of the eighteenth century. There is a great variety of types from which to choose--high-roofed châlets and low-roofed châlets, châlets of stucco and châlets of wood. And there never was a sounder theory than that of Switzerland concerning the construction of wooden edifices. I do not except Norway, nor Sweden, nor Japan, for the ancient[7] châlets of Switzerland are in academic Gothic, if you please, architecturally of a high order which has withstood the vicissitudes of art and awaits the homage of future generations. To American architects who still have PLATE LXXIX. [Illustration: KINGDOR. FRONT ELEVATION.] [Illustration: DETAIL “KINGDOR”.] more to do with wood than any other building material these châlets should prove both instructive and useful. Mr. Jean Schopfer has contributed, in the _Architectural Record_ (New York), two very interesting papers about the eighteenth century châlets, and I will devote what remains of my space in this chapter to an American châlet I had some little difficulty in prevailing upon its owner to have, but with which, now that it is finished, he has assured me he is perfectly satisfied. (See Kingdor, Plates LXVIII., LXXIX.)